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Variety World's only
immortal creature?
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It can change from
adult phase to
a polyp phase. |
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Mankind's quest for immortality has spanned centuries, but somehow we
always come up empty-handed. And the cycle of life and death is the same
for just about every other creature on Earth, but there's one that seems
to have beaten the system. Turritopsis nutricula is a species of
jellyfish that seems to be immortal; it has a mechanism for transforming
itself from its adult phase to its polyp phase, more or less cheating
death, at least in theory.
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A species of jellyfish that can cheat death. |
Most jellyfish have lifespans lasting anywhere from a few hours to a
few months, but they can seemingly manipulate tissues from both its bell
(in its mature phase) and its circulatory system.
The process is known as transdifferentiation, and it happens either
when stem cells transform into other types of cells, or when already
differentiated cells morph back into stem cells.
The Turritopsis nutricula is the only known animal that's able to
undergo a change like this, shifting from a mature animal back to its
infant form.
This transdifferentiation phenomenon hasn't been observed outside of
a laboratory setting. Even then, the switch only occurred under adverse
conditions. Scientists believe that the regression is so quick that they
probably wouldn't be able to observe it occurring in the wild.
Unfortunately, the T. nutricula have made a rather negative name for
themselves: as the biologically immortal jellyfish spread rapidly around
the world, biologists are worried that they could take over the ocean.
With an ability to stay alive as long as they aren't eaten or
overcome by disease, this particular type of jelly is clogging the seas.
And since they reproduce constantly, well, let us be the first to
welcome our new jellyfish overlords.
- Courtesy Gajitz |
